Safety zone



Allg. 9, 1932. -H A MQLER 1,870,638

SAFETY ZONE Filed March 19, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet l JJJJ xNvENToR New Aug- 9, 1932- H. A. MOLER 1,870,638

SAFETY ZONE Filed March 19, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVNTOR A www, ELSAM Patented Aug. 9, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE HARRY Al MOLER, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR TO BLAW-KNOX COMPANY, OF PITTSBURGH, FENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY SAFETY ZONE Application filed March 19, 1931. Serial No. 523,755.

This invention relates to safety zones such as are used alongside street railway tracks.

A fruitful source of accidents resulting in death or injury is the loading and unloading of passengers from street-cars. It has been proposed to provide Zones in the street to minimize the danger of accident, but all of the structures heretofore proposed have been open to numerous objections. rlhe mere markingofl' of loading Zones on the surface of the street was quickly found to be unsatisfactory and it was then proposed to insert posts around the margin of such Zone so as to prevent automobiles from driving through it. Numerous accidents were caused, however, by people stepping out from between the posts, and the idea was also open to the objection that those waiting within the Zone were frequently splashed by passing autoincbiles. Itv was also proposed to have elevated wooden platforms, but these have been found unsatisfactory because they are not structurally strong and will break or rot easily. They are particularly dangerous in winter' because the snow and ice is tramped down on the wooden surface, causing a dangerous slippery underfooting.

IVhile-neither of the above types of safety zones was satisfactory, it was attempted to improve the post-type zone by placing chains or railings between the posts sofas to permit of entrance at one end only. Splash plates extending between the posts were also proposed. ItY was found, however, that this was not suilicient for the reason that many automobilists were found to follow the street-car tracks and to pass on the inside of the safety zone. Many people were injured and killed by automobiles skidding or otherwise entering the Zone proper and pinning or crushing the occupants against the railings.

It was then proposed to employ a raised concrete platform, but this was found cumbersome, veryy expensive, dirty, and, like the wooden platform, very slippery and dangerous inrainy or wintry weather.

l have found that a safety zone which is freeof all of the objections above notedL and which4 hasnumerous desirable features not .possessed by other structures may be had by utilizing a grating' structure as a flooring for the safety zone and spacing it abovelthe street surface. I prefer to employ a metal frame for supporting the grating, this frame preferably having posts which may be buried in the ground, thus positioning the zone structure. The posts may extend above the grating so as to carry a hand rail and splash guards, but it is desirable that the splash guards not extend' down below the grating for reasons hereinafter pointed out in detail. The posts need be provided only on the outside7 of the safety Zone; that is to say, on the side remote from the street railway tracks. l prefer to employ stretchers extending transversely ofthe safety Zone and feet which are positioned relative to the posts by such stretchers. The feet need only rest on the street surface, thus doing away with any necessity ofl excavating adjacent the rails for posts and possibly interfering with the ties or other sub-surface parts of the road-bed.

lnk the accompanying drawings illustrating a present preferred embodiment of my invention,

Figure l is a perspective view of the safety zone;

Figure 2 is a top plan view thereof broken away alongthe line IIe-II of Figure 3;

Figure 3 is a side elevation; and

Figure 4 is a section on the line IV-IV of'Figure 2.

The safety zone illustrated in the drawings comprises posts 2 extending into the ground below the street surface S. The posts are spaced a distance from the street railway tracks, indicated by T in Figure l, and definitely position the safety zone relative thereto. A

Stringers 3 in the form of structural angles are carried by the. posts a short distance above the level of the street surface S, and feet Il are secured to the stringers intermediate the posts., Stretchers extend transversely of the structure from the posts 2 and feet land are secured at their'outer ends to feet 6, which, like the feet 4;', simply rest on the surface of the street. The feet 6 support stringers 7 whichare also in the form of structuraly angles. The stringers 3 and 7y provide continuously extending parallel supports for gratings 8 which are fastened down in any convenient manner. The gratings illustrated consist of girder bars 9 connected by cross bars 10. The cross bars are twisted squares which are forced into the girder bars under pressure while an electic welding current isV passed through the structure, thus forming grating panels of a unitary character. The cross bars project a slight distance above the top pla-ne of the girder bars and provide a non-slip surface. The distance between the girder bars is made suiliciently small that a heel cannot enter.

Splash guards 1l are secured to the posts, these splash guards extending upwardly from the stringers 3. Holders 12 are provided at the top of the posts for a hand rail 13, and the hand rail carries wires for lamps 14. At one end of the Zone the stringers 3 and 7 are extended downwardly to the street level, as best shown in Figure 1, so as to pro# vide an inclined ramp for passengers to enter the zone without any danger of tripping. A non-slip floor plate l5 extends from the end of the grating down to the surface of the street.

At the other end of the structure there is provided a prow, indicated generally by the reference character 16. This prow consists of two heavy channels 17 ysecured to one of the posts 2 and to two small supplemental posts 18 which are buried in the street. A

`large block 19 of concrete is placed inside thel prow and a standard 20 for a warning signal extends upwardly therefrom. This prow diverts traflic to onefside or the other of the zone. hitting it must go through several heavy steel posts and the concrete before it ycan reach anyone standing in the Zone. The protection afforded `by the channels 17 is eX- tended along the lzone on the outer side thereof by channels 21 secured to the post-s2.

In practice I have found it satisfactory to position the gratings 8 so that their top surfaces are 8 inches above the street level.

With a grating of the size which I employr this leaves more than 6 inches of clear space beneath the grating. The space beneath the e gratings may be readily flushed out by a hose. In case of rain or snow there is no collection thereof on the surface of the safety zone. Even in the event of a very wet snow, which may tend to adhere tothe top surfaces Vof the grating bars, the open character of the grating permits the snow` to fall through when it is trampled by pedestrians. It does not cake on the grating surface and give rise to a slippery footing. On the contrary, it

provides a safe, anti-slip tread at all times.

The splash guards should not extend below the level of the gratings. If they do so they iss f will interfere with the freedom of flushing out the space ybeneath the gratings and will If it is struck head-on, the car also destroy to some extent the visibility of the grating. Light reflected from store lfronts or the like may, in the structure illustrated, pass beneath the stringers 3 and 7 and, being reflected or diffused upwardly,

clearly defines the footing. I have found, moreover, that for purposes of protection the splash guards need not extend below the gratings since any mud or water which is splashed by passing vehicles will, if at or below the level of the gratings, be prevented from splashing upwardly on the feet of pedestrians by reason of the cross bars 10.

The advantages of my invention arise from the fact that the safetyzone issafe to walk on under all conditions. It `is clean and sanitary and affords ample' protection for people standing on it. The gratings cooperate with the stringers 7 to form a ver effective barrier against automobiles ski tracks. It is only necessary to disassemble the structure and pull the posts. The structure constitutes a complete unit which may be set up at any desired point and made in any desired length. The several parts can be readily maintained and replaced if this should ever prove necessary. The safety zone permits of only one point of egress and here provision is made to insure against tripping or stumbling. The zone is well lighted and the footing is particularly well marked by reason of its open character. The lights 14 and illumination from adjacent sources both bring out and clearly define the position of the grating, thus contributingfto greater safety. x l I havc'illustrated and described a present preferred embodiment of the invention. It will be understood, however, that it is not limited to the form shown but may be otherwise embodied or practiced within the scope of the following claims. f

I claim:

1. A safety zone for use alongside a street railway track comprisinga supporting frame 'extending upwardly from the street surface, and a flooring of open grating supported by supported by the frame above the street surface, the frame having posts extending above the grating on one side at least of the structure.

4. A street safety Zone comprising a supporting frame extending upwardly from the street surface, and a flooring of open grating supported by the frame above the street surface, the frame having posts extending above the grating on one side at least of the structure and a splash guard carried by the posts, the bottom of the splash guard being spaced from the street surface.

5. A street safety zone comprising a supporting frame extending upwardly from the street surface, and a flooring of open grating supported by the frame above the street surface, the flooring being inclined downwardly to approximately the street level at one end of the structure so as to provide a ramp.

6. A street safety zone comprising posts buried in the ground, stretchers extending transversely of the structure, feet secured to the stretchers, and a flooring of open grating supported by the posts and by the feet.

7. A street safety Zone comprising posts buried in the ground, stringers extending between the posts, stretchers extending transversely of the structure, feet secured to the stretchers, stringers carried by the feet, and a flooring of open grating supported by the stringers.

8. A street safety zone comprising posts buried in the ground, feet spaced from the posts, a flooring of open grating supported by the feet and by the posts, and substantially uninterrupted fending members extending along the posts and along the opposite end of the flooring.

9. A street safety Zone comprising a suportin` frame a floorinocarried thereb a b 7 E1 7 prow at one end of the structure, and a monolith within the prow.

l0. A safety zone for use along a street railway track comprising a flooring of open grating, and means for supporting the same in position above the street surface, the supporting means comprising spaced members extending upwardly from the street surface, the members being spaced suiiciently to permit of the ingress of light beneath the Hooring'.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

HARRY A. MOLER. 

